1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to communications systems, methods and devices. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the invention concern systems and methods directed to selecting the optimal mode or modes to transmit data to the ticker of a communication device.
2. Related Technology
The popularity of the Internet has given rise to a consumer demand for uninterrupted access to information. To accommodate the consumer demand, a plethora of information services have been developed to cater to consumers accustomed to accessing timely, personalized news and information. An example of an information service developed to cater to consumer desire for access to news and information is scrolling information displays. Scrolling information displays, referred to herein as “tickers,” are one type of content display mechanism that can give a viewer a quick, high-level update of news and information. Therefore, tickers have become commonplace on television news and sports programs, providing viewers with “at-a-glance” headlines, breaking news, weather reports, sports scores and other updates.
Not only do tickers provide at-a-glance updates during television programs, tickers also serve as information displays on computers and other electronic devices. One early example of a ticker on a personal computer (PC) system is the ticker provided by Pointcast. Through the Pointcast service, PC users could subscribe to news and information channels of interest and receive periodic updates on their computer displays, often in the form of a scrolling information display at the bottom of the user's display screen. An even earlier example of the use of tickers in conjunction with a PC was the ticker provided by gaming company Catapult Entertainment, Inc. In addition to providing users with gaming-related information, the Catapult ticker was also interactive through the use of the computer mouse. Rather than being limited to the information in the ticker, the user could use the mouse to click on an item in the ticker having a Universal Resource Identifier (URI) associated with the item, which would then cause a web page to be displayed with additional information about that item.
More recently, through the use of messaging systems with near-universal reach such as the Short Message Service (SMS), mobile workers can now receive up-to-the-minute business, financial and customer information on their mobile devices. Ticker information is supplied through various news and entertainment content providers and from other information sources, including corporate portals and customer relationship management applications. Furthermore, tickers are beginning to appear as a method for dynamic information display on mobile communication devices, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and “smart” phones.
While the value of receiving personalized, timely information in a condensed, quickly-read format such as a ticker is indisputable, the information tickers known in the art could be significantly improved. One area for improvement concerns data transmission modes. Currently, content can be transmitted to a communication device using any of a number of data transmission modes, including, but not limited to, cellular networks, internet protocol (IP) networks such as the Internet, the Short Message Service (SMS), satellite and terrestrial radio broadcasts, the 802.11 family of wireless local area networks, and Bluetooth networks.
Since it is likely that providers will transmit content of varying sizes and data types via numerous delivery mechanisms in order to deliver content to a device and populate its ticker, it would be valuable to both the communication device user and to the content provider to be able to selectively transmit content over multiple data transmission modes. In exemplary embodiments of the invention, optimal data transmission modes can be selected based on the characteristics of the content to be transmitted and other considerations, such as network traffic loads. Selectively transmitting content for display on a ticker over multiple data transmission modes would improve efficiency in transmitting data; while at the same time allow content providers and communication device users greater flexibility in transmitting data. Greater flexibility and efficiency in data transmission would also enhance user accessibility to content.